Our History

Sysco Eastern Maryland, LLC was founded in 1964 when Stanley E. Lankford, Jr. began selling potatoes to restaurants in the area. Gradually, he added other produce items, frozen foods and Pocahontas label canned foods. The business continued to grow and prosper under the direction of Stanley Lankford and his three sons, Tom, Fred, and Jim. Lankford Produce merged with SYSCO to form Lankford-SYSCO Food Services in 1981. Lankford-SYSCO Food Services was renamed to Sysco Eastern Maryland in the fall of 2008. Sysco Eastern Maryland is a broadline distributor with approximately 700 employees servicing customers from Pennsylvania to North Carolina, Europe and the Middle East. 

American Institute of Baking, an independent sanitation audit service, conducts semi-annual, unannounced audits of our facility. Sysco Eastern Maryland consistently receives a superior rating— the highest possible.

Sysco Safety Excellence Award - Sysco Eastern Maryland is committed to providing a wholesome, clean and safe environment for our Customers as well as our Associates. The facility is inspected on a regular basis by local, state and federal health agencies. Sysco Eastern Maryland consistently receives the highest possible score, Superior, during these inspections.